Letter of the Week, Feb. 24

It was not only a victory for the Stephen Foster neighborhood Monday night, but for Gainesville's residential neighborhoods at large.

Much to the surprise of many, the neighborhood stood up for itself with its own highly professional legal, environmental, and fiscal, rebuttal of the city's conversely hugely flawed presentation to consolidate its industrial stranglehold on its 405 NW 39th Avenue site.

By defending itself so stoically and passionately, the neighborhood forced our elected officials to acknowledge the legal rights of Gainesville's citizens to live in peace and quiet within our city limits. It also forced the commission to admit that they should be more cognizant as to the value and needs of Gainesville's residential areas. After all, the city's neighborhoods are its lifeblood, not to mention a key source of its revenue.

Moreover, the sleeping giant of a neighborhood made it abundantly clear that, now awake, it is a force to be reckoned with into the future. That it will hold Gainesville's public officials' feet to the fire if they fail to adhere to their election promises to assist neighborhoods to continue to flourish.

Lest they too quickly forget, the Stephen Foster Neighborhood Protection Group also stands united with other neighborhoods in readiness to take on other similar issues.